JP2020120183A - Display terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

To allow a hinge to be inconspicuous in folding in a terminal which is foldable with display surfaces facing outward.SOLUTION: Both of a first housing 10 and a second housing 20 are housings having a plate-like shape. The first housing 10 has a first display surface 11 having a rectangular shape. The second housing 20 has a second display surface 21 having a rectangular shape. A length in an X-axial direction of the second display surface 21 is shorter than that of the first display surface 11. A hinge 30 connects both of the housings so as to allow the first housing 10 and the second housing 20 to be foldable with the first display surface 11 and the second display surface 21 facing outward. A rotation center 31 of the hinge 30 is arranged behind the first housing 10 when viewed from a side of the first housing 10. In the first housing 10, a side surface 12 on a side where the hinge 30 is arranged has a shape to make an acute angle with the first display surface 11.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a foldable terminal.

Patent Document 1 discloses a foldable mobile terminal in which a button for performing an opening operation is not exposed to the outside.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2010-283692

For example, in a terminal that can be folded with the display surface facing outside, the screen can be displayed and used even in the folded state. At that time, if the hinge portion is conspicuous, the appearance impression is likely to be impaired.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to make a hinge inconspicuous when folded in a foldable terminal with the display surface facing outward.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a plate-shaped first housing having a display surface and a plate-shaped second housing foldably connected to the first housing. A second housing provided with a component serving as a user interface in a region in which a length in a direction in which both housings are arranged when the body is opened is shorter than the display surface, the first housing and the second housing A hinge that foldably connects the display surface and the area to the outside, and has a rotation center disposed behind the first housing when viewed from the display surface side. I will provide a.

Further, the component may be a second display surface having a shorter length in the direction than the display surface.

Further, in the first housing, a side surface on which the hinge is provided may form an acute angle with the display surface.

Further, the hinge may connect the first casing and the second casing such that an angle formed by the display surface and the region changes from 0 degree to an angle exceeding 180 degrees.

Further, the display surface may be provided up to a region where the center of rotation of the hinge is behind.

According to the present invention, in a foldable terminal with the display surface facing outward, the hinge can be made inconspicuous when folded.

The figure showing the external appearance of the smartphone which concerns on an Example. Enlarged view of the hinge Illustration showing the smartphone in the open state Illustration representing different smartphones Diagram showing the hardware configuration of the smartphone Figure showing a smartphone of a modification

[1] Example FIG. 1 shows an appearance of a smartphone 1 according to an example. The smartphone 1 is a foldable two-screen terminal and is an example of the “display terminal” in the present invention. In FIG. 1, the folded smartphone 1 is shown. FIG. 1A shows the smartphone 1 viewed from the lower side. In the smartphone 1, the one that comes vertically above (for example, the one with a speaker for a telephone) is the upper side and the one that comes vertically below (for example, one with a microphone for a telephone) is the lower side when normally used. Shall be the side.

In the folded state, the smartphone 1 has a rectangular first display surface 11 which will be described later as a front surface and a rectangular second display surface 21 as a rear surface. To do. FIG. 1B shows the smartphone 1 viewed from the front, and FIG. 1C shows the smartphone 1 viewed from the back. In FIG. 1, the direction along the short side of the first display surface 11 is the X-axis direction, the direction along the long side of the first display surface 11 is the Y-axis direction, and the direction along the normal line of the first display surface 11. Is shown as the Z-axis direction.

The smartphone 1 includes a first housing 10, a second housing 20, and a hinge 30. Both the first housing 10 and the second housing 20 are plate-shaped housings. The first housing 10 and the second housing 20 are foldably connected by a hinge 30 described later in detail. The first housing 10 has a first display surface 11 having a rectangular shape, and the second housing 20 has a second display surface 21 having a rectangular shape.

The first display surface 11 and the second display surface 21 are screens with different housings and are physically separated screens. Further, each of the first display surface 11 and the second display surface 21 is a component that also serves as a display that displays an image and a touch panel that receives a user's operation, and outputs information to the user and information from the user. Is a component (UI component: User Interface component) that serves as a user interface for executing the input.

The first housing 10 and the first display surface 11 are examples of the “first housing” and the “display surface” in the present invention, and the second housing 20 and the second display surface 21 are the “second housing” in the present invention. 3 is an example of a "body" and a "second display surface". The second display surface 21 is also an example of the "component" in the present invention. If the dimension of the first display surface 11 in the X-axis direction is L1, and the dimension of the second display surface 21 in the X-axis direction is L2, then length L1>length L2.

That is, the second display surface 21 has a shorter length in the X-axis direction than the first display surface 11. The X-axis direction is a direction in which the first housing 10 and the second housing 20 are arranged side by side when they are opened. Note that the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction do not change their directional relationship with, for example, the first housing 10 even when both housings are opened (for example, the long side of the first display surface 11 is in the Y-axis direction). Along, the short side remains along the X-axis direction).

Further, the first display surface 11 and the second display surface 21 each have a length L3 in the Y-axis direction. That is, since the first display surface 11 is larger than the second display surface 21 due to the longer dimension in the X-axis direction, the first display surface 11 is larger than the second display surface 21 in the folded state as shown in FIG. One display surface 11 is used as a main screen.

The first display surface 11 and the second display surface 21, both of which are UI components, are arranged and provided in the same size area at the same position as each display surface in the drawing. The area provided with the first display surface 11 is referred to as a UI placement area A1, and the area provided with the second display surface 21 is referred to as a UI placement area A2. The UI arrangement area A2 is an example of the “area” in the present invention. The UI arrangement area A2 is also shorter than the first display surface 11 in the X-axis direction, like the second display surface 21.

The hinge 30 is a so-called hinge that rotatably connects the first housing 10 and the second housing 20. The hinge 30 foldably connects the first housing 10 and the second housing 20 with the first display surface 11 and the second display surface 21 facing outward. The hinge 30 is a so-called single hinge (a hinge having one rotation axis) that can rotate around one rotation axis (rotation center 31). The rotation center 31 of the hinge 30 is arranged behind the first housing 10 when viewed from the first housing 10 side.

FIG. 2 shows the hinge 30 on an enlarged scale. In FIG. 2, as in FIG. 1A, the hinge 30 viewed from the lower side is shown. Further, in FIG. 2, an arrow B1 simulating the line of sight of the user who is looking at the first display surface 11 that is the main screen of the smartphone 1 in the closed state is shown. Since the rotation center 31 of the hinge 30 is arranged behind the first housing 10 as described above, the arrow B1 does not reach, that is, is invisible to the user.

Furthermore, the entire hinge 30 is also arranged behind the first housing 10 when viewed from the first housing 10 side. Therefore, the entire hinge 30 cannot be seen by the user who is looking at the first display surface 11 of the smartphone 1 in the closed state. The shape of the first housing 10 is also devised in order to hide the hinge 30 by this amount. Specifically, the first housing 10 has a shape in which the side surface 12 on which the hinge 30 is provided makes an acute angle θ1 with the first display surface 11.

In other words, the side surface 12 of the first housing 10 approaches the center of the first display surface 11 as it moves away from the first display surface 11 side, so that the rotation center 31 of the hinge 30 also has an angle θ1 of 90 degrees, for example. Compared with the case, it can be arranged at a position closer to the center of the first display surface 11. The second housing 20 also has a shape in which the side surface 22 on which the hinge 30 is provided forms an acute angle θ2 with the first display surface 11 when the smartphone 1 is closed.

On the other hand, the side surface 13 and the side surface 23 of the first housing 10 and the second housing 20 on the side where the hinge 30 is not provided both form an angle (90 degrees) orthogonal to the first display surface 11. , And the position in the X-axis direction is common. However, since the side surface 12 and the side surface 22 are both inclined as described above, the surface 14 of the first housing 10 on which the first display surface 11 is provided is the second display surface of the second housing 20. The dimension in the X-axis direction is longer than that of the surface 24 provided with 21.

Since the dimension of the surface 14 is larger than that of the surface 24, the first display surface 11 larger than the second display surface 21 can be provided. Further, the first display surface 11 is provided up to the area A11 where the rotation center 31 of the hinge 30 is behind. Although the center of rotation 31 is located closer to the center of the first display surface 11 as described above, the hinge is basically provided at the end of the plate-shaped member.

Therefore, the provision of the rotation center 31 up to the area A11 behind it means that the first display surface 11 is provided up to a position closer to the end of the first housing 10. In this way, by devising the shapes of the first housing 10 and the second housing 20 so that the dimensions of the first display surface 11 can be maximized, the first housing 10 and the second housing 20 can be made to have a shape larger than that in the case where the shapes are not made. The image displayed on the display surface 11 is easy to see.

FIG. 3 shows the smartphone 1 in an open state. When the smartphone 1 is opened, both housings rotate until the side surface 12 of the first housing 10 and the side surface 22 of the second housing 20 come into contact with each other. Here, the angle θ1 formed by the side surface 12 and the angle θ2 formed by the side surface 22 shown in FIG. 2 are angle θ1>angle θ2. Therefore, assuming that the angle formed by the side surface 22 and the second display surface 21 is the angle θ3 (θ2+θ3=180 degrees because θ3 is the complementary angle of θ2), (θ1+θ3)>180 degrees.

Therefore, in the state where the smartphone 1 is opened, when the angle formed by the first display surface 11 and the second display surface 21 is the angle θ11 (θ11=360 degrees−(θ1+θ3)), θ1+θ3 is larger than 180 degrees. θ11<180 degrees. When the smartphone 1 is closed, the angle formed by the first display surface 11 and the second display surface 21 is approximately 0 degrees. When the angle formed by the first display surface 11 and the second display surface 21 is referred to as “opening angle”, the opening angle increases as the smartphone 1 opens.

Then, the opening angle increases beyond 180 degrees to a small extent. As described above, the hinge 30 includes the first housing 10 and the second housing so that the angle (opening angle) formed by the first display surface 11 and the second display surface 21 changes from 0 degree to an angle exceeding 180 degrees. 20 are connected. When the user looks at the smartphone 1, the angle between the line of sight of the user's left eye and the first display surface 11 at the center of the first display surface 11 is an angle θ21, and the angle of the user's left eye at the center of the second display surface 21. An angle formed by the line of sight of the second display surface 21 and the second display surface 21 is defined as an angle θ22.

FIG. 4 shows another smartphone 1x. In the example of FIG. 4, the open state of the smartphone 1x in which the first display surface 11x and the second display surface 21x form 180 degrees when fully opened is shown. When the user views the smartphone 1x, the angle formed by the line of sight of the user's left eye and the first display surface 11x is an angle θ31, and the angle formed by the line of sight of the user's left eye and the second display surface 21x is an angle θ32. ..

3 and 4, assuming that the distance L4 from the smartphone to the user is common and the lengths L5 and L6 from the center of folding to the center of the display surface are also common, the angle θ11 is smaller than 180 degrees, and therefore the angle θ21>angle. θ31 and angle θ22>angle θ32. This angle relationship is the same for the right eye. Therefore, since the smartphone 1 can be viewed at an angle closer to 90 degrees with respect to the display surface than the smartphone 1x, the displayed image can be easily viewed.

FIG. 5 shows the hardware configuration of the smartphone 1. The smartphone 1 is a computer that includes a processor 2, a memory 3, a storage 4, a communication device 5, an input device 6, an output device 7, and a bus 8. Note that the word "apparatus" here can be read as a circuit, a device, a unit, or the like. In addition, each device may include one or more devices, or may not include some devices.

The processor 2 operates an operating system to control the entire computer, for example. The processor 2 may be configured by a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control device, a calculation device, a register, and the like. Further, the processor 2 reads a program (program code) including an OS (Operating System) and various applications, software modules, data, and the like from the storage 4 and/or the communication device 5 into the memory 3, and according to these, The process of is executed.

The number of processors 2 that execute various processes may be one, or may be two or more, and the two or more processors 2 may execute various processes simultaneously or sequentially. Further, the processor 2 may be implemented by one or more chips. The program may be transmitted from the network via a telecommunication line. The memory 3 is a computer-readable recording medium, and is composed of at least one of a ROM (Read Only Memory), an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. May be done.

The memory 3 may be called a register, a cache, a main memory (main storage device), or the like. The memory 3 can store the above-mentioned program (program code), software module, data, and the like. The storage 4 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be composed of at least one of a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a flash memory (for example, a card, a stick, a key drive), a magnetic strip, and the like.

The storage 4 may be called an auxiliary storage device. The above-described storage medium may be, for example, a database including the memory 3 and/or the storage 4, a server, or another appropriate medium. The communication device 5 is hardware (transmission/reception device) for performing communication between computers via a wired and/or wireless network, and is also called, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, a communication module, or the like.

The input device 6 is an input device (for example, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, etc.) that receives an input from the outside. The output device 7 is an output device (for example, a display, a speaker, an LED lamp, etc.) that outputs to the outside. In the smartphone 1, the input device 6 and the output device 7 include a touch screen configured integrally.

This touch screen is provided on each of the first display surface 11 and the second display surface 21, and the input operation by the user can be accepted on either display surface. The respective devices such as the processor 2 and the memory 3 are accessible to each other via a bus 8 for communicating information. The bus 8 may be configured with a single bus or different buses between devices.

The smartphone 1 includes hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), and an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). May be configured, and the hardware may implement some or all of the functional blocks. For example, the processor 2 may be implemented with at least one of these hardware.

As described above, the smartphone 1 is a terminal that can be folded with the display surface facing outside, and can be used by displaying an image on the first display surface 11 or the second display surface 21 facing outward even in the folded state. In particular, when displaying an image on the first display surface 11 at the time of folding, the hinge 30 is made inconspicuous by disposing the rotation center 31 behind the first housing 10 as shown in FIG. be able to.

In addition, since the side surface 13 and the side surface 23 of the first housing 10 and the second housing 20 opposite to the hinge 30 have the same position in the X-axis direction, the second housing 20 has the same position on the side surface side. 1 It is hidden behind the housing 10 and cannot be seen. As described above, in the smartphone 1, by making the length of the second display surface 21 on the back side in the X-axis direction shorter than the length of the first display surface 11 in the X-axis direction, both display surfaces have the same size. Compared to the case, it is easier to take a disposition in which both the second housing 20 and the hinge 30 are hidden behind the first housing 10.

[2] Modified Example The above-described embodiment is merely an example of the implementation of the present invention, and may be modified as follows.

[2-1] Side Surface Shape In the embodiment, the side surfaces of the two housings on which the hinges 30 are provided form an acute angle with the display surface, but the invention is not limited to this.
FIG. 6 shows a smartphone 1a of this modification. 6A shows the smartphone 1a in the closed state, and FIG. 6B shows the smartphone 1a in the opened state.

The smartphone 1a includes a first housing 10a, a second housing 20a, and a hinge 30a. The side surface 12a of the first housing 10a, on which the hinge 30a is provided, forms a 90 degree angle (right angle) with the first display surface 11a. Also, in the second housing 20a, the side surface 22a on which the hinge 30a is provided forms a 90 degree angle (right angle) with the first display surface 11a when the smartphone 1a is closed.

In this case, when the smartphone 1a is opened and the side surface 12a and the side surface 22a come into contact with each other, the angle formed by the first display surface 11a and the second display surface 21a becomes 180 degrees as shown in FIG. 6B. Also in this modification, as shown in FIG. 6A, the rotation center 31a of the hinge 30a is arranged behind the first housing 10a when viewed from the first housing 10a side. Therefore, the hinge 30a can be made inconspicuous as compared with the case where the rotation center 31a is not arranged behind the first housing 10a.

[2-2] UI Component In the embodiment, the display surface is arranged as the UI component in both the UI arrangement area A1 of the first housing 10 and the UI arrangement area A2 of the second housing 20. It is not limited to this. For example, a touch panel that receives a user's operation without displaying an image may be provided as a UI component, or a physical key, a physical button, or the like may be provided as a UI component in the UI placement area of the second housing. Good.

In either case, when the terminal is closed, the image can be displayed on the first display surface, and when the terminal is opened, the UI parts of the second housing can be displayed while watching the image displayed on the first display surface. Can be used to operate. Further, in terms of executing the input of information from the user, a digital camera that receives the input of image information using an image sensor may be provided in the second housing 20 as a UI component. Although the second housing 20 outputs the information in the form of an image, a speaker that outputs the information in the form of a sound may be provided as a UI component.

In either case, when the first housing and the second housing are opened, the length in the direction in which both the housings are arranged (the direction corresponding to the X-axis direction shown in FIG. 1) is the first display surface (the first housing). It suffices that the UI components are arranged and provided in a UI arrangement area (UI arrangement area of the second housing) shorter than the body UI arrangement area). Accordingly, compared to the case where the UI display areas of the first display surface and the second housing have the same size, the second housing and the hinge are easily hidden behind the first housing. ..

[2-3] Category of Invention The present invention is applicable not only to smartphones but also to, for example, tablet terminals and tablet PCs (Personal Computers). The present invention can be applied to any display terminal that has a display surface on at least one of the two housings and a UI component (including the display surface) on the other, and is foldable with the display surface facing outward. ..

[2-4] "and", "or"
In the present specification, with respect to a configuration that can be implemented with “A and B” or “A or B”, the configuration described in one expression may be used as the configuration described in the other expression. For example, when "A and B" is described, it may be used as "A or B" as long as it is practicable without inconsistency with other descriptions.

[2-5] Variations of Aspect etc. Each of the embodiments described in the present specification may be used alone, may be used in combination, or may be switched according to execution. Further, the notification of the predetermined information (for example, the notification of “being X”) is not limited to the explicit notification, and is performed implicitly (for example, the notification of the predetermined information is not performed). Good.

Although the present invention has been described in detail above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein. The present invention can be implemented as modified and changed modes without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention defined by the description of the claims. Therefore, the description of the present specification is for the purpose of exemplifying explanation, and does not have any restrictive meaning to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Smartphone, 10... 1st housing, 11... 1st display surface, 12... Side surface, 13... Side surface, 20... 2nd housing, 21... 2nd display surface, 22... Side surface, 23... Side surface, 30... Hinge, 31... Rotation center, A1... UI placement area, A2... UI placement area.

Claims (5)

A plate-shaped first housing having a display surface;
The second housing is plate-shaped and foldably connected to the first housing, and when the two housings are opened, the length of the two housings in a line is shorter than the display surface. A second housing provided with a component serving as an interface;
A hinge that foldably connects the first housing and the second housing with the display surface and the region outside, and is a hinge that rotates behind the first housing when viewed from the display surface side. A display terminal comprising: a hinge having a center disposed therein. The display terminal according to claim 1, wherein the component is a second display surface having a shorter length in the direction than the display surface. The display terminal according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a side surface of the first housing on which the hinge is provided forms an acute angle with the display surface. The said hinge connects the said 1st housing|casing and the said 2nd housing|casing so that the angle which the said display surface and the said area|region may change from 0 degrees to more than 180 degrees may be connected. The display terminal according to item. The display terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the display surface is provided up to a region where a rotation center of the hinge is behind.

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